Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Bell Tower in Perth, the equivalent of the Carillion in Canberra. Bells of St Martin in the Fields reside in the Bell Tower.

Cottesloe Beach.

Perth slyline.

This photo of Svetlana, Roumen, us and Marg is dedicated to our mutual friends Jo and Johnny Jankaus in Sydney who introduced us to each other way back. We had a reunion here in Perth where the other three now live. Thanks Jo and Johnny for making all this possible by being such generous friends who welcome all and sundry into their lives.

Friday, October 23, 2009

These are the sand dunes on the way to the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park.

The Pinnacles, formed thousands of years ago when ancient plant roots formed a weak cementation of calcite within the dunes and have been exposed by wind and shifting sands.

The Pinnacles have been sculpted by acidic ground water beneath the dunes. Once the Pinnacles are exposed by the shifting sands they are further sculpted by wind, rain and sun. Could not resist this phallic structure.

Dongara and its nearby twin town of Port Denison is the self-proclaimed lobster capital of WA with its off shore reefs supporting a profitable industry. The start of the season is 1 Nov with the Blessing if the Fleet in many of the WA coastal towns.

The town is a very pretty place with old Moreton Bay figs lining the main street and many historic buildings which have been lovingly restored and are lived in. The two towns have been popular retirement destinations for farmers of the surrounding rural areas. The above shot is of the Royal Steam Flour Mill built about 1894 and it ground wheat from surrounding farms until 1935. It is currently being restored.

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This is a former bank building, now a residential property. The left side of the building is a typical bank facade and it is a lovely old building.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

This is one of the most delightful camping areas we have visited not just in WA but anywhere. It is some 25 kms from Geraldton and the Greenough River forms a very deep natural pool at the fott of an impressive cliff and is surrounded by shady trees. It makes for a lovely picnic area, barbeque or a wedding as the last photo will demonstrate.

The Greenough River.

This shot of the campsite is taken from the cliff above. The camp area has gas barbeques, flushing toilets, non-drinking bore water and it costs a minimal amount per night.

On the Saturday we were there, a wedding ceremony was held. The wedding party came out on the Friday to practice. They said they were surprised how many campers there were. We campers were surprised that they were surprised, as it is such a lovely spot especially on this very very hot Saturday.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

This photo was taken at the seahorse sanctuary at Kalbarri where they breed seahorses for sale to aquariums around the world. Did you know that the seahorse is farily unique in the animal kingdom in that the male gets pregnant and hatches the young?

Admire my great shot of yet another lizard. This one has pretty stripes.

A rock that resembles a horse so closely we could not resist taking a shot of it.

Another natural bridge near Kalbarri on the road south. The other natural bridge we saw was in Qld just across the NSW border.

This is the Pink Lake at Port Gregory. The colour is due to a bacteria (Dunaliella salina) trapped in the salt granules. This provides a rich source of beta carotene which is harvested from small ponds. As the sun sinks, the lake apparently changes colour from mauve or pink to a slightly darker purple. Unfortunately we did not stay to see the change. This shot was taken in the early afternoon.

The above shot is of the famous Nature's Window in the Kalbarri National Park. It is a natural rock arch that superbly frames the upstream view of the Murchison River below. It is also the start, and end, of a lovely 8kms walk called the Loop which we did.

Further along the river along the walk.

The view from the top of the walk shwoing a longer stretch fo the river.

This shot is of another part of the Murchison River, showing the view from Castle Rock. We hired a motorised tinnie with Val and Gordon for three hours and travelled up the river and then did a walk to Castle Rock.